Title Dungeons & Dragons Tactics Date 09.03.2007 Genre RPG Platform Sony PSP Developer Kuju Entertainment Publisher Atari

Dungeons and Dragons tactics is basically a video game incarnation of the D&D 3.5 ruleset. The name Tactics might be a little confusing as, while it does play largely like a strategy RPG, it is more like playing regular D&D as its battle system works that way. Personally, I don't like Strategy RPGs at all and I really like this game because I like D&D. All the elements you would expect are present here: many character classes, deep customization, tons of spells and feats.

GRAPHICS
The graphics aren't bad for the PSP. The dungeons and areas themselves are especially pretty, as are lighting effects. Character models can be a little bland and chunky. The story is told largely in scenes with large character portraits, all of which are detailed and very well drawn.

GAMEPLAY
Dungeons and Dragons Tactics is a complicated game. Because it incorporates pretty much everything in the 3.5 handbook along with a little psionics some knowledge of the D&D system will help immensely. That is not to say you need to know everything, but some prior knowledge is a good idea. I haven't played since 3.0 rules but find I still know what I'm doing. Those completely new to D&D might find themselves feeling lost. The game does do a good job of explaining things (press triangle to get an explanation for pretty much anything) but even the explanations can be laced with D&D terminology. While I appreciate this desire to be as true as possible to the rule set, I doubt this game will inspire many new people to learn everything or get into D&D.

The main mode of the game is campaign mode. You can select a main character and a party from pre-made characters or create an entirely new party of your own. Character creation is extremely deep and detailed. You can assign every little point yourself or let the game do it for you. Character portraits and head/body options are very limited and I wish there were more of them.

You make your way around the map going on different quests. You find new items in chests, buy/sell at shops, level up, and all that other good stuff. Battle is fun. Very fun once you get past the first couple levels where it’s hard to hit the enemies. Each encounter begins with rolling initiative to determine the order in which everything attacks. Characters and enemies take turns moving and attacking. Chests and items are scattered throughout dungeons too for collecting.

Controls work well though I wish an option to move your whole party as a group while not in combat had been included, though you rarely go too long without an encounter. Moving six characters one at a time can get tedious, though it is possible to move twice per turn. The only other complaint is the menu system for equipping and shopping. Both are extremely and needlessly complicated and I found myself equipping things I did not want equipped or equipping them on the wrong character many times.

STORY
The story is very light here, though it does have a classic D&D feel and changes based on your character's alignment and choice of diety. Unfortunately, only one of your characters stars in the story, though others get dialog during battle. I could complain about this more but it is clear they tried and it is the kind of story you might be playing through in a tabletop game from a pre-written module or book.

SOUND
If I notice the music in a game, I consider it good. I enjoy the music here, very epic and high fantasy. No complaints here. The grunts from the characters, however, are really annoying and don't sound very good. Weapon clashes are better.

REPLAY
The campaign is long and you might want to play through it with different main characters or different types of class combinations in your party. There is also multi-player where you can battle against a party created by a friend. Downloadable content has also been promised.

BUY?
While far from being a perfect game, Dungeons and Dragons Tactics is an enjoyable experience for those who want to play D&D on the go. It might even give players some ideas for characters of campaigns for their own if they play the tabletop game. Those new to D&D might want to rent or try it before purchasing as the learning curve is pretty steep.

Game Score

B-

Reviewed By: Contributed